The day began with the arrival of the Holy Father at the Tor Vergata campus, where thousands of pilgrims had spent the night to participate in the Sending Mass, which brought an unforgettable Jubilee of Youth to a close.
The Holy Father once again toured the venue in the popemobile to greet the pilgrims before heading to the main stage, where the Closing Mass of the Jubilee was celebrated. The young people were then sent forth to the whole world to be witnesses of Christ’s hope and peace.
“Aspire to great things, to holiness”
Pope Leo XIV also offered renewing words to Catholic youth during this Jubilee, mentioning Saint John Paul II, who, 25 years ago in the year 2000, gathered with pilgrims from around the world in Tor Vergata for the 15th World Youth Day.
“Dearest young people, our hope is Jesus. He is the one, as Saint John Paul II used to say, ‘who stirs in you the desire to make your life something great […] to improve yourselves and society, making it more human and fraternal.’ Let us remain united with Him, remain in His friendship always, cultivating it through prayer, adoration, Eucharistic communion, frequent confession, and generous charity, as Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati and Carlo Acutis—who will soon be proclaimed saints—taught us. Aspire to great things, to holiness, wherever you are. Don’t settle for less. Then you will see the light of the Gospel grow each day, in you and around you.”
Shalom Youth
United with the Pope, pilgrims from the Shalom Community were present throughout this Jubilee week in Rome as a sign of the deep communion of the Shalom charism with the whole universal Church.
Pilgrims from Brazil, the United States, Italy, Ireland, Germany, Croatia, France, Poland, Israel, Canada, Portugal, Peru, Ecuador, Mozambique, Chile, and South Korea were present in Rome—future host of the next WYD in 2027, which will mark the second time that a World Youth Day is held in Asia, after the one celebrated in the Philippines in 1995.
WYD Seoul
Seoul will host the next WYD in 2027, the second time in history that a World Youth Day is held in Asia, after the one in the Philippines in 1995.
One of the biggest surprises of the Sending Mass was the Holy Father’s announcement of the dates for the next World Youth Day: August 3–8, 2027.
Inviting all young people to join him once again in Asia, the Pope expressed his gratitude to all participants in the Jubilee: “I thank you from the bottom of my heart, one by one.”
He also offered words of remembrance and intercession for all the young people who could not participate in the Jubilee, especially those living in areas of war.
